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by Natashasolten



Series: Pennsylvania Series [19]
Category: Wiseguy
Genre: M/M, Pennsylvania series, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-18
Updated: 2013-05-18
Packaged: 2017-12-12 05:51:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/808033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natashasolten/pseuds/Natashasolten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now in witsec, Vinnie and Sonny live in California where Sonny gets a job.</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> This is story number 19 in my Pennsylvania series where Sonny and Vinnie make a new life for themselves after Sonny gets out of prison and Vinnie quits working for the OCB. The first story in this series begins with Sonny going to prison in "I Know You Really Love Me." It was at first a "stand-alone" story. Then I wrote a sequel. Then I wrote 17 more stories.

“The hunter who is pushing  
you, the genius who is  
watching you – how I  
love their passion.”

\-- Rene Char

*

 

On a country-esque side road, magenta bougainvillea storming wild up and down the lane, ivy everywhere, palm trees mixed with pines, stood a cottage-style house bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside.

In May, everything smelled of oranges and lilies and encroaching summer dust.

After much discussion, some of it heated, and aggressive house-hunting, they’d settled here. Land of opportunity. Paradise. Soccormomville. Southern California.

Today, Vinnie stood out by the pool in pale blue swim shorts, his lean, tanned back bent as he lazily fished pink blossoms out of the pool with a net on a ten foot pole.

Sonny watched him from the kitchen window, elbows resting on the counter, hand under his chin. He often watched Vinnie when Vinnie didn’t know it. It wasn’t spying exactly. He didn’t care what Vinnie did. Just a pastime for him, a sort of hobby second only to his favorite pastime of touching Vinnie. Touching was good. Looking almost tied.

Here, in their private cul-de-sac, their nearest neighbor half a block away, Vinnie could still be “Vinnie” and Sonny could still be “Sonny.” They were in witsec now, with new names and backgrounds, but they rarely used them except when required to show i.d., or when meeting new people.

Sonny watched as Vinnie flung leaves and petals into the air and onto the grass, moving gracefully along the pool’s edge. When it was warm, Vinnie swam every day. He kept the pool heated but still avoided cooler days and the rain.

Today dawned perfect.

Sonny waited for him to finish the last leaf, the last flower, watched as Vinnie set the net aside and slowly walked to the head of the pool. He stepped up to the diving board, raised his tightly muscled arms, arched his back and dived perfectly aimed and arrow straight into the mirrored, waiting waters.

For awhile he watched him swim, dark hair a shining cap of black as his head rose out of the water and he turned length by length in the pool doing his laps. White froth fell from powerful arms. Trails of waves lapped at the concrete sides as Vinnie streaked back and forth, all grace and strength and moving darkness framed in blue, liquid light.

There were times, many moments every day actually, that Sonny missed the east coast. Atlantic City. The Royal Diamond. Pennsylvania. The house that looked like a gingerbread Christmas tree ornament.

Even surrounded by beauty on this sunny morning, today was one of those days.

He missed those high adrenalin times when he and Vinnie ran the streets, kept them clean, did as they pleased. He missed stretch limos and silk suits and big bad confrontations. He could never forget that time, with Vinnie at his back, he handed his pistol to Pat the Cat and dared him to shoot him right between the eyes. His blood sang in dangerous excitement at that memory of when Pat had complimented Vinnie in a tux and then mentioned casually how he knew Vinnie had taken down his man who’d been following them to the meet, and Vinnie had calmly replied through his teeth, “He was tailgating.”

He thought that one line at that one moment might’ve been when he’d really and truly lost himself in love.

Falling in love with Vinnie seemed natural, and back then despite having lived a straight life he had tried not to ponder too much on the gender of his focus. Such ponderings ruined his musings on the guy, forced him to look at the heavier side of things such as the fact that he might be killed by any number of La Familia if they became aware of his private predilections. And the idea that Vinnie himself might rebuff him was a kind of agony he refused to accept. While Vinnie proved he was no homophobe, treating everyone equally, never blinking back any sense of discomfort around some of the more blatantly gay cocktail waiters and dancers Sonny’s casino employed, it was no secret he delighted in women. Sonny had never stopped adoring women himself. But when Vinnie was around everything, even his thoughts, changed focus and philosophy. And when they had made their drunken bet Sonny could not believe his fortune that Vinnie had so readily agreed. Winner gets to know the loser better. Loser does whatever the winner demands.

Yeah, he’d been mad for Vinnie early on. His body and mind reacted as twins, each responding in its own way to awe and arousal. This was the nature of his connection to the man almost instantly. Everything fell into play just right and therefore perfectly normal if you took it outside of the mafia and current societal contexts.

But their road to partnership had been anything but smooth. Rocky. Filled with dangerous curves and secrets and deep deceptions.

How they’d gotten from meeting as busboy and mob boss at a fancy Italian restaurant to here had been about as atypical as any love story or romance Sonny had ever heard of. Not that he read stuff like that, or watched movies like that, but still…one heard about these things. One knew the stories of ill-met love and tragic consequences, all those left-behind Romeos and Heathcliffs, stories you couldn’t help but pick up on in school if you were paying even half-attention. To Sonny, their stories were mere child’s play to what he’d gone through, how he felt, how he’d broken. Sure, he didn’t have Cathy’s ghost climbing in through the window to taunt him but he knew what that might’ve felt like every time Vinnie had visited him in prison and he emotionally froze him out. He knew Romeo’s suicidal urge intimately, how it felt to be the wrong guy and the wronged guy from the enemy side.

Vinnie had done his best to remain strong, tried and true to his job. He’d forced himself to believe in the righteousness of what he was doing as he kept lying, kept deceiving Sonny even in those moments of closest contact, those endless nights when they couldn’t get enough of each other and wrestled until dawn until their skin and hair gleamed, soaked in love. To those “this is about the law!” convictions that held firm even when Sonny had given Vinnie everything, Sonny had lost. And he’d done time for it

Oh could he write a book. Could he ever! Oh yeah. Call it “Lies from the Heart” and the first line would be: “Any guy whose beliefs supersede family and friends cannot be trusted.” He could do whole chapters about honor and its downgrading in this day and age. He could talk of broken hearts and PTSD until he went insane and took a rifle up to the clock tower to take out the world. He would never tell Vinnie this, but he could write the book on suicide and how to do it right. If it ever came to that, he wouldn’t get it wrong the second time around.

He figured if he really wanted to market the drama, he’d get the book made into the shape of a heart where you had to break it down the middle to open it and read. Maybe he’d imbed razors in random pages just to keep the reader on his toes, keep him guessing where in the book he might get cut. Would there be a happy ending? He wasn’t sure. If it was his book and he could do as he pleased he might lead the reader through all the bumps and crashes and explosions and reconciliations to a quiet country-esque house in southern California where everything is finally peaceful, over and done, filled with nights of wild lovemaking with the only person your body and mind ever truly felt at home with, then end it with the final image of the beautiful, retired cop who has re-won trust swimming like a seal back and forth in a scintillating crystal backyard pool, gorgeous, dripping as he emerges from the depths, smiling as he is greeted at the back door by his lover with fresh lemonade in one hand and in the other…wait…where did that revolver come from? Boom. Boom. Pow.

In slow motion the dark-haired, beautiful good guy with eyes like the noon sky in May goes sprawling backwards *splash* into the satin waters of the pool which slowly turns red and the sun sets and the dead man floats and that’s all he wrote.

He turned away from the window, smiling slyly at himself. Who was he kidding? He never made lemonade.

*

Sonny heard the shower go off, the glass door open, then close. He leaned against the bedroom doorway trying to be unobtrusive but unable to stay away. On a perfect day like this… And Vinnie still dripping, still slick, still undressed…

The door to the bathroom opened. Vinnie entered the bedroom in just a white towel that barely reached around his waist and looked like it might fall if he breathed too deep.

Unaware he was being observed, Vinnie opened the top drawer to his dresser and rummaged around. He pulled out a pair of dark shorts and socks. He set the socks on the top of the dresser, then holding the shorts in one hand he let the towel drop.

Sonny timed it perfectly. On purpose. He knew that even after everything they’d been through and done Vinnie was still often quirkily shy when getting dressed. He’d been that way since the beginning, in hotels when they traveled, and in the gym.

Sonny came around the threshold of the door, scuffed his shoes loudly on the tile, kept his gaze fixed on Vinnie’s ass and plopped on the end of the bed. “So, what do you want to do this morning?”

Half bent, one leg in the air and aimed toward his shorts, Vinnie turned his head and almost lost his balance.

Sonny chuckled. “Nice view. Need help?”

Vinnie ignored the second question, finally got his shorts on, turned and said, “I don’t know. What were you thinking of doing?”

“I got that consult job later this afternoon. But my morning is free.” Sonny had surprised Vinnie when he’d marketed himself as a business consultant in various specific subjects and started getting a little freelance work in the city. With his new name, no one had recognized him in the west coast business world. Yet.

“Yeah, I remember,” Vinnie said, pulling on his jeans. Bare-chested, he grabbed his socks and came over to the bed. He sat next to Sonny very close and started putting them on. “I’m going with you to that.”

Sonny tilted his head at him, frowning. “Old habits?”

Vinnie shrugged.

“I’m perfectly safe. They want someone with casino experience if they’re going to back the Indians. I got that. They think I merely worked high up at the Diamond instead of owning it. That cover’s in place perfectly thanks to McPike. That’s all they know. Could turn into full time.”

“Do you want to work full time again?”

“It gets me out and about.”

“Okay, but I’m still going with you.”

“They’ll ask who…”

“I’ll be your assistant. You’re bigwig enough to have one of those, right?”

“Vinnie, I’ll be perfectly safe.”

“People who invest in and build casinos even for the tribes still often run in the same circles. You might run into people who have known you. It’s dangerous, Sonny. It’s too close to the past.”

“You want me to pass on this job?”

“We don’t need the money.”

“I know.” Sonny sighed, reached out his hand and stroked just above Vinnie’s knee. “But I don’t want to be retired yet.”

“I know. Maybe we could do that car import thing again. That was great.”

The conversation continued, as it always did. They had argued about this subject before and would again. One or the other was always worried about their safety, the possibility of being seen by someone who might have known them from the past. Sonny sometimes thought maybe they should’ve moved further away, to another country.

“I want to do this, Vinnie. You wanna come with me to make sure our cover stays good and tight, I can’t stop you.”

Vinnie sighed. “We just got settled. And I like the pool.”

“Hey, nobody said we’re moving again. And even if we have to, there’re pools all over this world, some even nicer than ours.” Sonny ran his hand up from Vinnie’s knee to his thigh.

“Well, I like this one.” Vinnie turned to look at him. “We’ll just be careful, okay? That’s why I’m going with you.”

“Fine.” Sonny moved his hand up a little more. Vinnie grabbed his hand and pushed it away but as he did he never blinked. And his eyes sparkled.

Sonny pulled his hand back and raised it to Vinnie’s head, sliding it through his damp hair, taking in the bare, firm chest before him. “You’re still all wet.”

“I took a shower.”

“I know. And you didn’t invite me.”

Vinnie raised his chin. “You already had one earlier.”

“So?”

“How many times a day do you want a shower?”

Sonny grinned evilly. “As many as I need.”

Vinnie laughed.

Sonny said, “Damn,” and flopped onto his back on the bed. His cock was hard and they’d only been talking. Well, and Sonny had been watching him swim. “Look what you’ve done to me.”

Vinnie looked down at him. “Hey, you ambushed me.”

“I did no such thing.” But his jeans bulged, telling the ardent truth.

Vinnie lay on his side now and propped his damp head up on his hand. Black bangs fell forward, water-curled. His dark nipples were small and hard drying in the room’s spring air. His skin gleamed a pale, light brown…not as gold as Sonny’s but more olive, and just…lovely.

Vinnie just smiled.

Sonny smirked.

Vinnie said softly, “Ya wanna?”

“I always ‘wanna’ with you. But I’m hungry, too.”

“Me, too, starved.”

Ever since they had been relocated things on the physical front had stepped up. For weeks they had been in between homes, living in safe houses and hotels with 24-hour guards and surveillance. They hadn’t had the time or opportunity to be alone much. Sex had turned into a far too distant possibility leaving them both wanting and frustrated. By the time they got their own place and were settled, they’d stayed in bed for two days coming up for air only to shower and eat. After that, their lovemaking remained amped up. Sometimes they had sex as much as three times a day, usually once before sleep, but occasionally waking in the night, and once in awhile early or mid-morning before or after breakfast. However, their last session had been the previous night.

Vinnie’s stomach chose that moment to rumble. Sonny raised an eyebrow. Vinnie said, “Hey, it’s not my fault. I just swam, like, a hundred laps.”

Frowning now, but moving to sit up, Sonny said, “’Like’ a hundred laps? What, we’ve lived in California less than two months and you’re already starting to talk the way they do?”

“Hey, pal, it’s a part of my cover,” Vinnie replied, throwing in the Brooklyn accent as thickly as the words would allow.

Sonny stood, sighing loudly. “C’mon. Put your shirt on. Let’s go out for pancakes.”

Within minutes they were at the front door. Vinnie grabbed his keys from the hall table and nearly bumped into Sonny who had abruptly turned around and was making a bee-line for the kitchen.

“Hey…what…?”

“I wanna put food out for the cat first.”

Vinnie said, “That big black one? He hasn’t been around for days.”

“So? Maybe he found a lady cat. That doesn’t mean he might not be hungry when he comes back.”

Vinnie stood with his hands in his jeans pockets in the doorway. Sonny got out a can of tuna and a saucer. He went out the back door and placed the food just off the red brick path that led to the pool. When he was done, he straightened up and brushed his hands on his thighs. Vinnie was staring at him with a bemused expression. Sonny said, “Okay, that’s done.”

“You’re going all domesticated on me,” Vinnie grumbled as Sonny moved past him.

“Am not.”

“You want a cat…”

“I didn’t say I wanted a cat.”

“Well, you’re sort of luring one to the door.”

“Am not. He just looked a little skinny when he came ‘round. Why let a guy starve if you can feed him?” And at just that moment he thought of Mooch and Roj and Auggie, all street guys but all very good informants, guys he’d kept working, guys whose bills he paid even when they weren’t as full of information as Sonny might’ve liked. He remembered giving Mooch ten grand when he’d let him go because Sid had insisted “no junkies”, and even with that much money he’d put in Mooch’s pocket Sonny had still felt guilty watching him walk, jobless, out of his office. Suddenly he had a dark thought. “You know what I wanna do? I wanna find Sidney Royce wherever he is and twist his snobby Harvard head off his pansy white neck.”

“He’s in witsec like us.”

“I know.”

“When did Sid come into this conversation?”

Sonny shook his head. “Just thinking about…things.”

Vinnie said, “Look, if you want to do this right, we can go to the store and buy some real cat food.”

But Sonny had stopped thinking about cat food now altogether. He felt a little anxious and he wasn’t quite sure why. “I’d rather find Sid,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, well, that’s classified.”

Sonny stopped at the words. He turned looking at Vinnie in a different way. “You know where he is!”

“Frank got to rename him and figure out a new life for him. Selling shoes. And that’s all I’m allowed to say.”

Sonny laughed to hear that, then sidled up to him, closing his eyes halfway. “You gotta tell me where that bastard is!”

“Sorry.” Vinnie moved past him.

“Hey!” Sonny turned and followed him a little closer than was normal. “I’m not kidding!”

“Give it up, Sonny. You’re not gonna go kill Sid.”

Sonny rounded on him, hands coming up to press not too gently against Vinnie’s chest. “’C’mon.” He revved up the drama a bit just for fun. “I’ll be the best ex-mafioso witsec’s ever seen for the rest of my life; you won’t even recognize me… if you just let me do this one thing!”

Vinnie took a step back and folded his arms across his chest to keep Sonny’s hands away. “I don’t want to spend my life with you in prison.” But his lips held an edge of a smile as he said it. “Although it is a pretty wonderful idea.”

“Yes! Let’s go. Today! Screw that consulting job.”

Vinnie rolled his eyes, saying, “Breakfast first. And you know it’s a felony to be even thinking of premeditating a murder even if it is of a sub-human guy who used to be named Sid. And especially on an empty stomach.”

Sonny suppressed a grin. “It’s always going to be the law with you, isn’t it?”

Vinnie merely grunted as he rounded their car and got into the driver’s seat.

As they drove to the restaurant, Sonny tried but failed in getting Sid’s new name out of Vinnie. It sort of bothered him that Vinnie still knew things Sonny didn’t.

“You don’t trust me,” Sonny challenged.

Vinnie’s smile dropped away. He stared more intently at the road.

“You gotta still keep secrets because of who I am…or was.”

Vinnie didn’t answer.

Deciding he didn’t feel like pushing Vinnie any further…especially since Vinnie’s body language had tensed, he turned and sat back in his seat. “All right, all right. Don’t get testy.”

“I didn’t say…”

“You don’t have to.” Sonny took a breath. “I just hope Sid rots. A shoe salesman? Ha! Yeah, that’s our Frank, thinking that one up.”

Vinnie’s smile was back. Sonny never tired of seeing it.

*

Vinnie stood in the airy, bright office, feet insulated by six hundred dollar a pair leather Ferragamos that seemed to glide across the slick marble hall floors and thick Chinese rugs that that decorated every reception area and wide space. Right now he rocked a little back and forth on the rug of the president’s office and tried not to sweat through his Armani silk

Things were starting out about as badly as he could have imagined with the 50-something, lily-white, slightly overweight head of the corporation asking Sonny too many questions about Atlantic City and the Royal Diamond.

Sonny fielded every question perfectly, light on his feet, calm in his speech and approach, showing not one iota of the nervousness Vinnie felt. Sonny was real good at bullshit. Vinnie was better. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. Now he was wondering why he hadn’t pushed Sonny harder to re-start their car import business instead of going along with this hare-brained idea.

But he had to admit Sonny was in his element. He fairly glowed talking about casinos and “location location location”, licensing and layout, marketing draws and headliners.

But Evans kept asking things like, “How long did you work there in Atlantic City?” and “What experience did you have before you worked at the Diamond?” He wanted to know if Sonny had contacts. He wanted to know what happened, why the Diamond got closed down. Did Sonny know “connected” guys? he asked with a laugh. He’d read the Diamond was owned by the head of the Atlantic City mob but he couldn’t recall the guy’s name just now.

When that question came, Vinnie grew a tad more relieved because anyone asking that question was more naïve about the mob than knowledgeable, and he probably wouldn’t figure things out unless he did a bit of newspaper and library research and who had the time for that? If he checked out Sonny’s background their “cover” would come up. Frank said it was air tight. Nothing in it linked Sonny and Vinnie to their past anymore.

Sonny said, “Oh the owner? He was overseas a lot or so they said. He wasn’t really a hands-on guy. They say he was mafia, yeah, but the details of the day to day running of the casino fell to the managers, the assistants, the marketing department. It was just a business like any other. Beyond that…” Sonny shrugged and gave him a closed-mouthed, innocent smile that Vinnie thought might have looked slightly feral…but Evans didn’t notice.

The meeting lasted about four hours. Sonny managed to slip up only a few minor times with details that were not a part of their new identities. One of those was when he mentioned that his assistant was a Fordham graduate. Vinnie forgave him that one since Sonny had liked to brag about that in the past to just about anyone who’d listen.

At the end of the four hours, Sonny was given the part-time consulting contract with a hefty advance and his own office for a trial period of six months. Much of the work he could do at home like writing and reviewing reports, but Evans wanted him in the office for meetings and “lunches” at least three days a week. As for Sonny’s assistant, the company had plenty that Sonny could use, so Vinnie was not offered any salary.

Sonny said, “No worries. I pay him to do what I need,” which left the door open for Vinnie to be there at any time without question. If Sonny had told the truth, that Vinnie was there to be a bodyguard, that would not have gone over well at all.

Evans said, “Well, I can offer him a desk in reception.”

Vinnie almost laughed.

Sonny replied, “Oh that’s not a problem. He’ll have a desk in my office.”

Evans raised his eyebrows but other than that had no response.

When they got to the car, Vinnie said, “You are so full of shit your eyes are brown.”

“Hey, I got the job. I know the racket. I can be of help to these people.”

“Yeah, as long as you can evade the mob.”

“No problem. Evans’ investment subsidiary is clean. I’ve never heard of any mob connections there. But you can have Frank check it out if you like.”

“I will.” Vinnie was a believer that you could never be too safe. “That corporation’s huge, though. You never know who’s involved on any level higher up, lower down. You don’t know.”

“Well, get Frank to check out Evans, too, if you’re so paranoid.”

“Sonny, I know you had fun today, but I just…”

“I did have fun. I want to work. This is my field. And look! I got five figures burning a hole in my pocket. Let’s celebrate. The steak’s on me.”

“Well, and he did give you your own office. That’s something.”

“Yeah.”

“But I still got you beat.”

“Huh?”

Vinnie held back a grin. “My first day on the job I got a suite, a Porsche and a new Armani wardrobe.”

Sonny’s mouth dropped open. No words came out.

Vinnie chuckled and turned onto the freeway straight into six o’clock Los Angeles freeway traffic. It took an hour to get to the restaurant. They didn’t get home until 9 o’clock.

*

Vinnie’s little dig about Sonny’s gifts when they were back in Atlantic City had not dampened Sonny’s mood one bit. He seemed very “up” and remained so when they got home, humming a little tune under his breath the way he sometimes did when he was having a good day that held little or no drama. He undid his tie, took off his jacket and went into the kitchen coming back with two beers.

Vinnie had undressed down to slacks and shirt, his shirt unbuttoned half-way down, shoes shed. He took the beer happily and they turned on the TV, letting nameless sitcoms soak into their evening for a little while.

The slow burn of the beer and the good day and Sonny sitting very close to him got the better of him. He stretched his arm over the back of the couch letting it rest lightly against Sonny’s neck and shoulders. That was all it took. Sonny was leaning over his lap within seconds, arms and hands encompassing Vinnie’s head as he began slow-kissing him.

Less than half a beer and half an hour on the couch to this. It wasn’t atypical for them.

Sonny moved up and onto his knees beside Vinnie. Vinnie’s hands were around Sonny holding him against him, smoothing down his still-clothed back until he cupped his buttocks. Too much cloth! He wanted to feel that silken, tight skin. He wanted Sonny naked and sliding eagerly against him, to run his hands up and down those firm flanks, feel Sonny surge at the touch, undulate, try to get closer.

When they finally pulled back for air, Vinnie said, “Bed?”

Sonny backed off and stood, holding out his hand, the bulge in his trousers looking promising.

Neither wasted any time hanging up the expensive suits. It was as if they didn’t exist once they were off making shiny black piles on the floor, their starch white shirts littering the room like discarded clouds.

In the dim light, Sonny was coppery, wiry, coiled and gleaming. He smelled like sweetgrass and rain. Vinnie pushed him back on the bed fitting automatically, perfectly between his bent legs, feeling the knees hug him and Sonny’s arms pulling him down. They rocked and kissed for awhile, Sonny wrapping and unwrapping his arms around Vinnie’s back. Vinnie pulled him up several times, clutching him tight, kissing Sonny’s neck as Sonny’s raised head fell back against Vinnie’s forearm which took the weight and pulled him closer. These moments were more intimate to Vinnie than actual fucking which could often turn—at least for him—more selfish when it came down to heading for the finish line. This was true sharing. Reveling in the heat of each other, and the arousal of passion that vowed a rewarding outcome. A supernova of the brain. Vinnie had read somewhere that in scientific studies of the brain nothing lit it up more entirely and effectively than an orgasm.

Well, they were going to be lit up tonight.

He could feel Sonny’s cock so smooth and tight and insistent against his belly. His own cock was drawn up, too, aching and hard between them and brushed wantonly against Sonny’s. It felt so good, that rocking, that pressing and rubbing between them. They could stay locked that way for a long time and not be disappointed. At least he’d never heard any complaints from Sonny. Truly Sonny was eager for everything and never complained in bed, or criticized. Not one single time. But Vinnie didn’t take that for granted. He knew that Sonny’s kink for being on the bottom if they had intercourse didn’t give him carte blanche to just go at it whenever he felt like it every single night. Sonny had told him in the past that Vinnie didn’t hurt him, but Vinnie still waited for the signs and clues from Sonny. It couldn’t have been easy for him, giving over like that even if he was what Vinnie termed an “aggressive” bottom. It wasn’t just easy as all that to fuck that way, either, no matter what porn movies made it seem/look like. Plus, a person needed time to recover a bit.

The previous night Vinnie had been inside him to the hilt. Things had gotten a little rough-fun but nothing Sonny ever complained of. They’d both had fantastic orgasms. So Vinnie figured tonight would be other interesting positions. The clues were subtle but he could read them. Sonny didn’t reach for the lube. Sonny clutched Vinnie harder to him and didn’t seem intent on turning, moving, lifting. The signs might be invisible to another but Vinnie was fluent in them. Sonny wasn’t offering himself tonight and that was absolutely fine.

If Sonny was ready and wanting it, he’d turn a little, lift one or both legs higher, and either ask for the lube or grab it himself.

But right now he was melted in Vinnie’s arms in seeming absolute bliss, a smile on his face, eyes closed so that the lashes made thin, tight black lines against his cheeks. They fluttered, opened wider when he saw Vinnie was looking down at him and grinning. Their smiles met.

Vinnie could love him like this forever and never care if they ever did anything else. All he wanted was to be with Sonny, the legend that was Sonny and the generous, sensitive guy behind that legend.

Sensitive was how he thought of Sonny even back in their mob days because sometimes the man was overly sensitive to the point of obsession. It was how he’d gotten into such deep water concerning Patrice, and how protecting himself had resulted in that extreme reaction against Pat the Cat the night of the bachelor party.

The horror of that night was never forgotten by Vinnie. But the Sonny he’d fallen in love with had been the whole package, even that aggressive, violent side. He’d had a long time to think about it all while Sonny was in prison and he had decided to accept and love the entirety that was Sonny, to stand behind him even in things they might not see eye to eye on.

Vinnie was never happy to remember that night that Pat died, but Sonny would not be the man he loved if that side of him hadn’t been there. Even now, mostly contained, contrite, that side of Sonny still existed contributing strength, action and intelligence to their relationship. That side of Sonny had saved Vinnie’s life in the Catskills when two armed men had come to assassinate Vinnie while they were on their skiing vacation. That side of Sonny contained his wit, his imagination, his staunch position in sacrificing whatever he needed to protect what he and Vinnie had. It was more due to Sonny’s insistence than Frank’s that forced Vinnie to agree to go into witsec in the first place. He had not wanted to move, or even admit that he might still be in danger after the two assassins in the Catskills were caught.

Vinnie had a job to do, still, even though he was formally retired. That job was more personal now, though. It was about keeping Sonny out of trouble for their own sakes and not because Vinnie was “about the law.” Earlier in the day when Sonny had pushed the idea of killing Sid, perhaps half-joking, perhaps not, Vinnie had reined him in. He knew he was that grounding force in their relationship. It was impossible to forget.

And strangely, it actually made him love Sonny more.

The kink of bedding the “bad guy” was one of his darker traits.

He leaned down pressing himself against Sonny’s pliant body, and whispered in his ear, “I’m gonna light you up.”

“Huh?” Sonny managed, his legs straightening a little, his knees falling away from Vinnie’s hips.

Vinnie slid down and Sonny sputtered a little as Vinnie lapped at his balls, then went very very quiet as Vinnie began licking upward and took him into his mouth. Sonny’s breathing leveled off but not from lack of excitement…it was a result of fierce concentration. Vinnie knew from experience that was what Sonny did. As the pleasure crested, Sonny would moan, sometimes curse. Closer to the finish he would toss his head, stretch his legs, sometimes thrust his hips forward. But he would never force a change of position. When Sonny was being blown, he was focused and committed.

The intimacy of Sonny’s body language was a first-rate hobby of Vinnie’s.

Sonny was so firm and warm in his hand, his mouth. Vinnie let his tongue slither around and press all the tender spots he knew drove Sonny crazy. He sucked him deep but gentle for awhile before giving it more strength, moving his tongue faster, tightening his lips.

Sonny groaned.

Vinnie moved up, giving lip and tongue attention to the sensitive head, wrapping his palm firmly about the base, fingers trailing and tapping gently against his balls. More groans. Sonny’s legs flattened, bent. The body tensed a bit. Vinnie called that “squirming.” And he loved to make Sonny squirm.

He tightened his hold and sucked harder, deeper. He hit all the tender spots, the pleasure spots, and he drew Sonny into quiet frenzy; now Sonny’s hands tightly gripped the bedspread, his legs moved, his hips pushed up and back a few times. Then one hand came up and touched the top of Vinnie’s head. He didn’t push or grab or clutch, and rarely ever did. His palm just rested there.

Vinnie realized that when Sonny wasn’t cursing under his breath, he really was a gentleman when it came to this. The ladies must’ve loved him.

But oh how nicely he tensed up, how the soles of his feet rubbed back and forth over the bedspread, how his head turned and his mouth opened as if he were about to bite the pillow.

Vinnie moved his head faster, then slowed knowing it drove Sonny nuts. Slick flesh, kissing/sucking noises, the taste of sweat turning tangy. Sonny was right on edge now. Gentle fingers lightly wove through Vinnie’s hair but still he never pressed them down, never shoved.

Sonny was so stiff, poised, ready. Beautiful.

Vinnie eased up. Licked forcefully just below the head. Fingers stroked.

His body arched. Sonny’s hand slid down to the side of Vinnie’s face as he cried out and came hard, gushing. Vinnie let it happen, then eased his mouth back down on him as the spasms subsided, ensuring the final throes of pleasure were not ignored.

Sonny was spouting nonsense, things like “godohfuckyesohohohoh.”

Right now he was so warm and bright in that dark room. Vinnie crawled up his body and took him into his arms. Sonny grabbed on, holding…just holding.

Vinnie said, looking down, “I don’t always understand you but I LOVE making you incoherent.”

“You understand me perfectly.” Sonny bit down on a big grin then just let it go and laughed. Their arms tightened around each other.

After he caught his breath, Sonny turned them in the bed until they were facing on their sides. Vinnie’s erection poked a smooth thigh.

Sonny said softly, still grinning “Let’s see how well I understand you.” Then kissing him, he pushed Vinnie onto his back and climbed on top.

When Sonny let up and straddled him on hands and knees, Vinnie could see the shadows of the objects in the room, brown-edged from the light in the hall, but around Sonny was a dark amber glimmer, and his body was smooth-muscled everywhere Vinnie’s hands skimmed, like melted rippled glass, like sun-warmed river rock so smooth and shining it blinded. He reached further and ran his hands over Sonny’s ass, softer than any part of his body and with more “give.”

Sonny ran his hands up and down Vinnie’s chest, sat up until those warm twin cheeks of his ass rested against his thighs, and half-whispered through clenched teeth, “Ah, babe, you’re so gorgeous.”

Vinnie’s cock lolled on his abdomen. Sonny’s hands traveled down Vinnie’s ribs to his belly, then lower. Using both hands, he lifted the length of it and gently caressed upwards, first one hand, then the other, over and over. He moved until he could lean and take it in his mouth, licking, sucking, but as he came up he left trails of moisture that felt like they sizzled against him. Sonny massaged him that way over and over. Hands, then mouth.

The pleasure was intense and encompassing, sending a hunger through and around him that was a combination of longing, amazement, passion, devotion. Even though he’d been in love with Sonny for over two years, he fell in love again that night, the strong churning in his chest pressing against his heart until it, like his cock, seemed to swell.

The slide into ecstasy was like a slow-motion fall. He spread his legs as Sonny sucked him in, pressed up with his hips at the same time he lifted himself on his elbows in a sort of uncontrolled spasm. He cried out, feeling himself come in burning, hot pulses, feeling that smooth mouth taking him in…it was and wasn’t enough. He came but he didn’t feel himself let go completely. His cock felt hard still, strained. The burn in his balls remained.

He caught Sonny up and into his arms. They kissed and pressed their bodies tight together. But then Vinnie broke away, sat up and ran his hands through his hair. “Damn!”

Sonny came up alongside him, stroking his face. He turned Vinnie’s chin to face him. With his other hand he slowly stroked between Vinnie’s legs.

Sonny laughed out loud, then pushed him down. “I like this a lot. So much.”

Vinnie groaned.

Sonny pushed his legs apart and began worshipping again, hands and mouth, murmuring stuff about how beautiful Vinnie was, and of course that spurred him on.

He kept thinking, I can’t. Certainly not yet. This can’t be happening…

He figured it would take awhile but he didn’t want Sonny to stop, either.

Sonny ran his hands under Vinnie’s ass, cupped it and pulled him up, using his mouth in wildly intoxicating ways and in about two minutes Vinnie was coming again harder than ever, the yells choking him like gravel in his throat even as he heard his voice echo around the room amidst the rush of blood, the singing in his ears.

Afterward, he lay in a puddle of his own exhaustion and sweat. Sonny was smiling at him.

Vinnie remembered that even in their all-night marathons of love-making they’d rested in between taking each other on again.

Vinnie met his eyes. “That’s never happened to me before.”

Sonny got a smug look. “Really? Not even when you were fifteen?”

Vinnie shook his head frowning.

Sonny kissed him and nuzzled his neck, laughing quietly. “You are so my favorite.”

Vinnie replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “Yeah. I know.” But he couldn’t stop the chuckle that came up and turned to laughter that startled the shadows in the room.

After he calmed, Vinnie said, “Jesus fucking California.”

It was a quote from their favorite movie and it got Sonny going every time to compete to see who could quote it the most.

Sonny said, “Happy trails, Hans.”

Vinnie was ready. “Welcome to the party.”

“Geronimo, motherfucker.”

“Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass.”

“Asshole? I’m not the one who just got butt-fucked on national TV.”

Vinnie scrunched up his face. “Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.”

Sonny replied, “C’mon baby, come ta papa, I’ll kiss ya fuckin’ dalmation.”

Vinnie laughed. “I’m stumped. I got no more.” For this game there were rules. Yippie ki yay mutherfucker was off the table.

Sonny sat up and smacked his forehead a couple times. “I’ve been working on this one. Let’s see if I can get it right. ‘The circuits that cannot be cut are cut automatically in response to a terrorist incident. You asked for miracles? I give you the Ef Bee Eye’.”

“Hey, are ya dissing the F.B.I?” But Vinnie collapsed back onto the pillow trying to keep from going into hysterics. When he caught his breath, he said, “All right you win.”

*

Dawn came with soft black hair and blue eyes. Vinnie’s body almost smothered him but Sonny loved it.

They made love leisurely, mostly rubbing and petting, and napped until about eight. Vinnie got up then and put on his swim trunks. A little while later, as Sonny still lounged on the blankets and pillows that smelled so sweetly of his lover, he heard the sound of a splash and Vinnie doing his laps.

He dozed for about fifteen more minutes, then got up and took a shower.

Once Sonny was dressed he haphazardly made the bed. It was not the way Vinnie would have made it but when Vinnie came in for his shower he didn’t comment at any wrinkles or imprecise lumps. Vinnie was a bit of a neat freak but he never ragged on Sonny about doing things his way. Maybe it was still too early in their relationship for that sort of thing. Maybe that would come later.

At least Sonny had picked up their suits off the floor. They’d have to go to the cleaners so he didn’t bother making them too neat, either.

Next Sonny went into the kitchen. He looked around at the choices for awhile, then decided he didn’t want to prepare anything. They both liked to eat out anyway.

He went out back and checked the cat’s food dish. Nothing had been touched. There were a few ants circling threateningly. Sonny dumped the old food and put out fresh. Maybe the cat would be back today. He realized he was actually hoping for it, but he wasn’t going to tell Vinnie that. Vinnie had already accused him of “going domestic.” Even though he was happy living here with Vinnie, he certainly did not like the sound of those words at all.

He had planned to have kids with Theresa but his thoughts had not moved forward from the idea of carrying on the Steelgrave name, the same way he’d never forward-thought about where Vinnie would fit into his “married” life. He’d never hated the idea of kids, but it was something he figured would be more his wife’s job. He realized now he was sort of an ass to think that. He’d been so focused on controlling the mob from Atlantic City to New York City that he’d let that become his sole identity, his destiny. With that kind of power and money, you simply hired people to take care of the rest. If Theresa wanted her own freedom, they could have hired nannies.

And of course he’d never even considered ending things with Vinnie, as if he’d thought Vinnie would just always be there. When she’d visited them back in Pennsylvania, Theresa had actually asked him what in the hell he had been thinking? Was Vinnie going to sleep at the foot of their bed? she’d asked.

He didn’t realize until everything that happened between him and Vinnie came to a head how disassociated from reality he’d actually become, as if he were a cartoon character of himself strutting around. He’d gathered up all his problems, his troubles, and placed them in a basket containing Patrice’s name. If he could conquer Patrice, he’d decided, all would be solved.

Of course everything fell apart instead.

It took him a long time to realize that Vinnie never stopped picking up the pieces. That was Vinnie’s gift. His way of trying to fix what he couldn’t fix. Of atoning for his crime of the heart. To this day, Vinnie did not stop trying to prove that Sonny’s words to him…You have no honor…were untrue.

Losing his faith in Vinnie had been the crime. But the memory of the agony of Vinnie’s betrayal could still smash him down, a pain that did not retreat easily even in the proof of adamant reassurance. Even now, as he understood Vinnie’s point of view, how Vinnie had trapped himself, ensnared by love but trained by law, the pain was always there below many layers of this “new” Sonny. It waited, a wounding scar. The nightmares were fewer now, but they still came. Unexpected. Unnerving. Leaving him breathless.

As he threw away the empty tuna can, he turned. Vinnie stood at the bar watching him. His still-damp hair was slick. A fringe of bangs shadowed the left side of his forehead. He wore jeans and a blue shirt. A dark energy seemed to crackle about him.

Sonny’s heart stepped up. His Vinnie. He loved him more than he’d ever loved anyone. The bonus of his beauty only made it deeper.

This was why Sonny was so sensitive. Why the pain could never leave. It was as if this man were the very shadow-essence of his soul. Not an easy thing to accept. It was both pain and pleasure. Strength and vulnerability.

There was no light without the dark. No love without the hate.

Sonny blinked at him, then gifted him with a half-smile. “Breakfast out again?” he asked.

Vinnie nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

*

Vinnie had his feet up on the desk. He was reading. But it wasn’t the newspaper.

Sonny squinted to see if he could make out the title of the book. He couldn’t.

They were both in the office today. Vinnie at his desk against the wall, Sonny by the window. Sonny had been working on a report. It was pretty boring. He was looking for ways to lighten it up, insert a little humor, but he had nothing.

For a few seconds he watched Vinnie, then he said, “Is it insulting to you that they think you’re my assistant?”

Vinnie folded the book closed and looked up over his knees. “Huh?”

“You could be running this show.”

The smile lit Vinnie’s eyes first, then left a grin on his lips. “My ego isn’t that delicate.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Sonny, you’re the expert on casinos, not me.”

“You worked at the Diamond for a year.”

Vinnie just shrugged. “You wanted this job. Not me.”

“But you don’t have to come trailing along every time I go to the office.”

“Sonny.” Vinnie looked at him reproachfully. “You know why I’m here.”

When Sonny didn’t reply, Vinnie said, “Trying to get rid of me?”

Sonny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’re babysitting me.”

Now Vinnie frowned.

Sonny added, “Making sure I stay clean from the deep shit again.”

“That is not why and you know it!”

“What do I know? You say you don’t trust this business. But I know what I’m doing. And I’m not taking meetings with the west coast mafia.”

“Sonny, if anyone were to recognize you…”

“And then what? What are they gonna do, Vinnie? I’m not their enemy. They’d be more likely to want revenge against the cop who closed my casino down!”

Vinnie’s lips went tight. Sonny watched as he lowered his feet to the floor and the chair springs pushed him forward. If there was such a thing as a “burning stare” Vinnie was giving him one right now. After a long moment, Sonny never glancing away, Vinnie lowered his eyes and said, “I’m not insulted that they think I’m your assistant.”

Sonny said nothing.

Vinnie said, “You think I’m dogging your every step?”

Sonny looked out the window at the city’s gray-smog sky, the forest of buildings that gave glimpses, between them, of distant green hills. “It’s just this damned report. I gotta get it done by five.”

Vinnie got up. “I’ll go see if there’s coffee.”

For several minutes Sonny continued to stare out the giant window. Maybe this job had been a mistake. Because today was proving to be not much fun at all.

*

Vinnie stayed true to his word and brought back hot coffee in a black cup. He even made it how Sonny liked it, one cream only.

Vinnie stood by the window sipping his own. Sonny drank a couple of mouthfuls, then turned back to his screen, which was a blur of amber and black. He let out a sigh.

Vinnie said, “Maybe I can help.”

“I just can’t think right now. The coffee isn’t helping.”

“Where’re you stuck?”

“Nickel slots pay the most to the casino but the dollar to nickel slot ratio…”

Vinnie said, “Things were always changing when the numbers reports came in. You insisted on keeping up with the times. When we left,” he swallowed hard, looking a little uncomfortable, then closed his eyes and recited a number. It was up to date as of two years ago. Sonny had forgotten.

“Yeah, that was it. Now with the improvement in the economy and a few adjustments for the inflation, it should be…” He turned to the computer and typed. Then he looked up. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, it’s good coffee, huh?” Vinnie grinned.

“Yeah, I’ll make you head coffee-man.”

“Great. A promotion already. Let’s celebrate.”

Sonny chuckled and went back to work, noticing that Vinnie left again when the door swung closed with a click.

*

Sonny finished early. He came out of his office and saw Vinnie leaning back in a chair at reception. Four people, one man and three women, at their desks were turned around all the way, their attentions riveted on him. Vinnie’s voice was low as he spoke. “…so then the guy bought a bulldozer and…” He looked up, thick eyebrows raising.

The four others turned to look at Sonny.

“Ready to go?” Vinnie asked.

Sonny nodded, watching the disappointed faces of Vinnie’s rapt audience.

“I’ll finish the rest of the story on Thursday,” Vinnie said to them, standing.

“See ya later,” one of the women said.

All of them watched as Vinnie walked around the desks and came to the foyer. All eyes were on him as if Vinnie were a magnet.

Well, Sonny thought, he wins people over everywhere he goes.

On the way to the car, Sonny said, “They all wish they could date you.”

Vinnie replied, “I’m with you.”

“They don’t know that.”

“We were just killing time. End of the day boredom and all.”

“They’re probably wondering why you don’t have a desk out there with them.”

“Nah.”

“You could get any one of them to go out with you at the drop of a hat.”

“Including Sam?”

Sonny chuckled. “Especially Sam.”

“Do you think we’d be fired if it got out that we’re a couple?” Vinnie asked.

Sonny’s smile fell and he looked at his keys, playing with the lock button. “Yep.”

“Secrets don’t stay secret.”

“This job is temporary.”

“Someone will find out eventually.”

“Hey, I finished my report. You got a promotion. You’re ruining our day. We should celebrate.”

“There’s a company party in two weeks. We’re expected to bring our wives or girlfriends.”

“We’re not going.”

“Figured.”

“Look, Vincent, if you want to go, go. I’m not going to start socializing with these people. Why are you even bringing it up? You’re the one seeing danger everywhere you turn.”

“I don’t. I just want to make sure I keep up to date about what’s going on behind the scenes and all the gossip. You learn a lot that way.”

“What’d you learn today?”

“That Carly is cheating on her husband with someone named Fritz. That Lana’s sister just had a baby girl. That downstairs in marketing two people in the Xerox room were caught having sex behind the big collating machine.”

“Sounds like a soap opera.”

“Everyone knows everything that goes on around here. They just pretend they don’t.”

“So you’re wondering what’s being said about us.”

“I’m hoping to find out.”

Sonny opened the car door and got in the driver’s seat. “I think there would be less talk if you didn’t come to work with me every time in the same car and leave the same way. If I were by myself with only one desk in my office there wouldn’t be talk.”

“You’re the one who said I could have a desk in there.”

Sonny started the car. “It’s fine by me. But you said it yourself. People talk.”

Vinnie looked like he was pouting as Sonny pulled out of the parking garage and onto the street making his way to the freeway entrance.

After about two minutes of silence, Sonny realized he’d won that round. Sonny rarely won their arguments but when he did he sort of cherished the moment. He reached out and turned on the radio to a “hits” station. Then he said, “What do you want for dinner?”

“Pizza.” Vinnie’s answer to a long day or a bad day or a day he lost an argument was always ‘pizza.’ It was also his favorite after-sex snack.

Sonny said, “Just so happens I know your favorite place.”

*

The days were getting longer. The late afternoon sun left slats of orange light across the living room hardwood floor. Outside a silk breeze blew in under the eaves with a soft shushing sound that made Vinnie think of warm days at the beach in childhood, times when worries did not exist.

Vinnie licked the tart flavor of cherry from his lips (he was drinking cherry Cool aide) as he sat on the couch waiting for Sonny to come home. While he did, he leafed through the reports Frank had sent. They’d just come in the mail.

Vinnie missed Frank a lot. He’d gotten into the habit of having Frank visit them in Pennsylvania at least every other Saturday, but after moving to California that had, of course, stopped.

Today was the first day Vinnie had decided to let Sonny go to the office alone. He didn’t like it but he also didn’t like Sonny’s moodiness at the conflated idea that he was being “babysat.”

A week ago, Vinnie had called Frank with a list of names he wanted checked out. It was a long list but Frank had not complained about it. It was the name of everyone he had met or heard of working at the company Sonny was consulting with.

The file was pretty boring but Vinnie read carefully, looking for anything that might stand out, or create in Vinnie a feeling of unease. Nothing jumped up yet. But it was a large file

He was getting sleepy, reading slower. The breeze and the dark glow of the late sun and the quiet peacefulness of their home settled into his skin and muscles until his eyes half-closed.

When he startled awake on the couch he realized the room had dimmed. Glancing quickly at the clock told him it was almost seven. He sat up fast, running a palm over his eyes and into his hair. “Damn!”

Sonny was late.

He turned and stared at the phone for a moment, then got up and went to it. He dialed quickly. Seconds later he stood listening to Sonny’s answering machine at the office. He left a brief message: “It’s seven already. Where are you?” then hung up.

One by one he called his friends in reception but they were all long gone. No one picked up. He was sent to voice mails and answering machines only and his frustration increased.

When there was no one left to call, Vinnie put down the phone and turned around the room twice as he tried to figure out what to do next. He realized a tight knot was forming in the top of his belly. He ignored it. There was no reason to panic. Sonny probably had just gotten caught in that damned wall to wall L.A. traffic.

Their car in Pennsylvania had had a car phone but they’d sold it. This new one they’d bought here in California didn’t have one and Sonny kept saying he’d order it, but then would get distracted and forget. Now it was on order, but it was going to take weeks to arrive.

Their second car was also phoneless. Vinnie realized now the oversight was reckless. Being in witsec, coming from their dark past, they needed to be vigilant. Making sure they had means to contact each other from anywhere should have been a number one priority.

Sighing loudly, then glancing at the clock one more time, Vinnie realized there was only one thing to do. He’d retrace the route to the office. He grabbed his car keys and wallet from the foyer table and opened the front door. Two doves flitted up from the porch and into a dark pine, twittering as they went. The sky above was a darker blue now even though sunset was still an hour away. In the distance, a few fluffy clouds had turned pale pink.

A breeze filtered past him with a dry, grass scent. Everything seemed so serene. But his heart was pounding like mad. Quickly, he got into his car and drove down the pretty, leaf-flickering country lane and out toward the highway to the freeway.

When he got to the office building and the parking garage, there were few cars and no one around. Vinnie walked out through the garage to the arch by the glass front doors. A single security guard sat at his post inside at a tall desk.

Vinnie opened the doors. The guard glanced up, typical grunt with short hair, small eyes and broad shoulders. “Can I help you?”

“Has everyone left the building?”

The guard frowned. “There’re a couple guys working late on the fifth floor, and two more on the ninth. Most everyone’s gone home except the janitors.”

Vinnie didn’t know the guard so he knew he would not know Sonny by his assumed name or not. He said, “I’m looking for a guy who works on the 12th floor. Thin, dark hair, nice suit.”

The guard smiled. “They all have nice suits. But I can call up there for you.”

Vinnie shook his head. “I’ve already called.”

“He’s probably left then. Did you check the garage for his car?”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

Vinnie turned and went back outside. In the garage he got into his car and drove all the levels of the structure looking for Sonny’s car. On the top level his heart became a tense weight in his chest when he found it. It was empty. He squeezed his hands together and leaned his forehead into them, trying to think what to do next. If Sonny had still been inside he would have called. If he could.

Vinnie thought about driving back down there and convincing the guard to let him in to search. His mind played out the strategy of that at lightning speed, even as he put his car into reverse. Then he heard something. The sound of an engine approaching.

He looked up, the rearview mirror giving him a view of a dark car turning the curve of the parking structure, slowly gliding down the row on clean, new tires. Graceful. Effortless. It was a black Cadillac with new chrome bumpers.

Vinnie turned off the engine and slumped down in his seat as he watched it go by in the mirror, then stop behind Sonny’s car.

The back door opened. The front passenger door opened. Two men got out. Then a third. That third man was Sonny and Vinnie slumped lower, breathing a huge sigh of relief to see that Sonny looked perfectly fine, unharmed and in fact utterly relaxed and cool with the two taller guys who stood, one on either side of him. They stood too close to him for Vinnie’s comfort, but Sonny seemed entirely in his element, unaffected.

Vinnie’s knees knocked against the underside of the steering console as he hunched further down so as not to be seen. The two guys with Sonny took no notice of his car, which he’d parked several spaces away from Sonny’s.

He heard an echo of laughter. Not Sonny’s. Then more low talking, rapid discussion. He could not make out any words. Then he heard Sonny’s voice, low and casual, reassuring. The next thing he heard was two car doors slamming. Then the Caddy drove off.

Vinnie stayed low. Of course Sonny saw his car. But Sonny was not going to take any chances. It was about a minute before he heard Sonny approach.

Blinking, Vinnie sat up and unlocked the doors. Sonny got into the car on the passenger side and leaned back. He did not look at Vinnie. He stared straight ahead.

Vinnie said, “I came looking for you.”

“I figured that.”

“The one day I don’t go with you…” he didn’t finish.

Sonny took a deep breath. “It’s called irony, smart guy. You want me to say you’re right, then I’ll say it.”

“I just want to know you’re okay.”

Sonny nodded. “They want in on the deal. They know I’m from the east coast and worked in A.C. They came to me because, I dunno, maybe I had the look. They want me to convince Evans to let them in. They just drove up while I was walking to my car.”

“Here?”

“Yeah. Here. In the parking garage. You don’t say ‘no’ when they drive up and they tell you you’re going for a ride. There was no way to call you. And I wasn’t going to ask to use their phone.”

“Okay,” Vinnie said, voice very low.

“You believe me, don’t you? I’m not off having meetings with mobsters because I want to.”

Vinnie sat up frowning. “Of course I believe you.”

“Well, I told you I wouldn’t and then…” Sonny looked at him. His eyes almost glowered. Shiny with worry. And anger.

“Then they were waiting for an opportunity to get to you alone?”

“Yep.”

“Someone on the inside is supplying information. That you’d be the guy Evans would listen to. Could be anyone, staff, reception, the cafeteria…anyone.”

“They aren’t going to take no for an answer, Vinnie. Evans has to cut them in or there will be trouble. They can influence the deal so this company loses its share. They’ll make the Indians want to turn away and find someone else, someone they approve of. And control.”

“I know how it works,” Vinnie replied a little testily.

“So what do I do? Recommend Evans works with these guys?”

Sonny kept looking at Vinnie seemingly more nervous now than he was in the presence of the two goons who’d just dropped him off. Talk about irony.

“In the past,” Sonny continued, “I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. I’d be one of those guys. It would be an easy deal. Everyone would’ve made money and been happy and protected. They are offering a lot of capital. Enough to make anyone feel pretty sweet about it. But…”

Vinnie blinked as he stared away at the wall of the garage, at the sq uare lights that lit it up. He let Sonny talk. He let him think it through.

“It’s just business, ya know?” Sonny said. “It’s the way things operate in big business. Ya gotta have all the ins and outs covered. These guys serve a purpose.” Sonny was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, “But once you’re in you don’t get out. It doesn’t stop at one thing with these guys. Evans wouldn’t be able to do any business ever again in any area without them breathing down his neck, looking at it all, looking to get their fingers in on all aspects of his corporation. And I think he’s an honest guy. I really do. But the consequences. He could lose the whole damn ship…”

Vinnie licked his lips. He glanced at Sonny who was still looking at him. “Well?” Sonny prompted.

“Are you asking me what to do?”

Sonny made a face but didn’t look away. His gaze was still intense but his voice, as he said, “Yeah,” was edged with the drawl of dejection.

Finally Vinnie swallowed. His heart still felt jittery. The knot in his stomach had subsided but the echo of it, of all the worry, of not knowing remained. He didn’t want to live like this, with this feeling. Neither of them should ever have to live like this again. They didn’t have to now. It wasn’t necessary. And most certainly Sonny could not ever be allowed the luxury of thinking that kind of power could ever be his again. The temptation of it, the ease with which Sonny settled in a perfect fit right back into that role could trick him into thinking it was okay, normal, just an every day business venture.

Vinnie kept his voice soft. “It’s not our business anymore, Sonny.”

“I know.” Sonny’s hands fiddled with his rings as he looked down. “But what do I say to Evans?”

“Nothing.”

Sonny froze, then looked up. “Nothing?”

“You quit. You give your notice. You’re out. It’s not your business anymore. We don’t work with it or against it. We just don’t work at all. Not when it comes to that kind of a deal. Then we’re out. And we go home. Safe. Alive.”

“Well, I’ve worked off the advance. And they said they were only giving me a six month trial. It’s not like I’m permanent.”

Vinnie felt the stomach knot ease up more, the after affects diminishing. He hadn’t realized how tense he’d been ever since he woke at home on the couch and Sonny wasn’t there, until now when his muscles finally relaxed.

Sonny kept looking at him. Now his head tilted. “Were you worried about me?”

Vinnie slumped a little. “Nah. I know you can take care of yourself.”

A smile edged the corners of Sonny’s mouth. “I can always tell when you’re lying.” He gave a forced laugh. “And you drove all the way downtown when I didn’t come home.”

Vinnie shrugged. “I thought maybe you had car trouble.”

Sonny rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Right.”

Vinnie just sighed.

Sonny touched him gently on the hand, not grabbing or anything, just a brush. “Let’s go home.”

*

Sonny put the TV on mute and turned toward Vinnie who sat on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. “I kinda liked Evans. Who’s gonna look out for him?”

“He can look after himself.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing that from you,” Sonny said.

“All right, then, I’ll put on my red shirt with the big “S” on it, my cape, and fly over to where those guys live and punch them in the nuts.”

“I was more thinking along the lines of calling Frank, letting him know something’s going down. Maybe he knows guys here who’d be interested…”

Vinnie squinted at him. “I can’t believe I’m hearing that from you.”

“It just feels weird. Doing nothing. It’s not who you are. It’s not who we are.”

Vinnie got up then, went to the dining room table and picked up an envelope. He came back to the couch and handed it to Sonny. “I already had Frank looking into everyone working there. This is the paperwork he sent. Came in the mail today.”

Sonny took it, saying, “That’s the Vinnie I know!” He glanced through the papers. “Did you find anything?”

“Nope. It was all pretty boring, actually.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll talk to Frank, though. I will. If you’re so worried about your pal Evans…”

“He’s not my pal, I just… When I work for someone I’m sorta giving my word I won’t screw them.”

Vinnie felt his heart jerk. “I know. Honor and all that.”

Quietly, “I know you know.”

A headache started in the back of Vinnie’s neck and skull quite suddenly. Sonny may have been head of a large organized crime syndicate back in Atlantic City, but this side of him had always been real, too. Even in his dealings with the most under-handed individuals, if Sonny gave his word he didn’t go back on the deal. He was a straight-forward businessman. Unless you tried to rip him off, break the deal and lie about it, he was a man of his word. Trouble came to him because the rest of the world did not operate that way. Most people in the industry were liars, fakes and scam artists. So if you scammed Sonny he’d scam you back. The war between him and Patrice had gotten out of hand because of it. And Sonny had almost lost his freedom and his life.

Yes, Sonny broke the law. A lot. And Vinnie’s brain came up with all different ways to make excuses for that. In the end, nothing was really just black and white. Still, once you killed someone, maybe it became easier to do it again, and then again until all that power and control went to your head and you could no longer see or think clearly.

Vinnie himself still had flashbacks to that moment he’d pulled the trigger on Lorenzo after that guy had raped Gina Augustina. He never had regret about it, but his mind sometimes flashed on that scene over and over. The man had not only been an imposter, he had been completely insane to the point of evil. He had threatened Vinnie over and over, and promised to finish what he’d started with Gina. Vinnie had executed him and felt justified. But the fact that he’d found himself in that position in the first place intensely bothered him. He was not an executioner and he was not a judge, but in those last few moments he’d become both.

Now, in this new life, he simply wanted to protect himself and Sonny from that sort of situation happening again. He felt he’d had to make that choice. It was as if his and Sonny’s love would never be allowed to flourish in the midst of their respective careers. They’d both had to quit and change…or never be together.

Vinnie decided to choose from his heart. After Sonny’s whole life was destroyed, Sonny had no choice, but he’d ended up staying, choosing Vinnie after eight months in prison gave him a wider perspective on life.

None of it came without consequences. Vinnie’s mom still would not speak to him. And Sonny still had occasional angina-inducing nightmares. Vinnie still worried that Sonny was unfulfilled, that he might one day run back to the city and the past he’d grown up with. Sonny still questioned Vinnie’s trust in him and, Vinnie knew, the nightmares were always about Vinnie’s betrayal that foggy, early autumn morning when Sonny finally figured it out and said those damning words, “You’re a cop.” It was still no small detail that Sonny had actually tried to commit suicide. That dark fact haunted them, a shadow that would never completely vanish.

Vinnie’s headache stabbed harder now. He got up. Sonny looked at him strangely.

Vinnie answered the look. “I got such a headache. I think I’m gonna take a couple aspirin, turn in.”

“Okay. I’ll just look these over.”

Vinnie nodded, watching for a few more seconds as Sonny read Frank’s files. Two years ago he never would’ve pictured this, Sonny looking for ways to help a guy stay out of the mob and using Frank’s intel to do it.

More irony. Hell, the whole day had been full of it. But he was done now. He was going to bed.

*

There was an inner gloss to his dreams locked in a slow evanescence of ecstasy pouring outward with stars, glittery as if everything were behind glass, safe except from light which increased the value of the all-glowing essences. His dreams were precious and liquid. Out of the mist Sonny’s face turned toward him, blurred but smiling. Sonny’s fingers tugged gently at his hair as he said, “We keep each other alive.”

Vinnie felt pressure, like a beloved embrace. He was swimming now, doing laps in the pool surrounded by pink bougainvillea blossoms that filled the air with magenta snow. Now he stood in bronze twilight. Everything smelled of brick and dust and wild roses. Sonny was standing in silhouette by a pine tree at the far edge of the yard. Vinnie watched as he vanished, then frantically looked around. Where Sonny had been stood a medium sized black cat. It wound its way through the late spring grass, sleek and slim, filled with the perpetual grace of night. It approached Vinnie cautiously, but stopped, never coming close enough for Vinnie to catch it.

The dream transformed to blue space and Vinnie floated there for a moment before a voice called him out. “Hey, are you asleep?”

He opened his eyes. “I was.”

Sonny sat on the edge of the bed looking down at him. “How’s the headache?”

Vinnie realized now the pain had receded completely. “’M okay.”

Sonny’s hand came up to rest gently on the side of his head. “You sure?”

Vinnie nodded but glanced away.

“I am quitting, just so you know for sure. We’ll find something else to do. Something better. Something even more exciting.”

Even though Vinnie knew it wasn’t what Sonny had wanted, he was glad to hear it.

“And if Evans needs help, maybe Frank can find someone for him.”

Vinnie forced a smile.

Sonny’s hand slowly stroked his bangs. “I know you were worried.”

“Nah.” He lied. “Not about a tough guy like you.”

“Yeah, right”

Suddenly Vinnie’s throat felt tight. The headache threatened again. “I wasn’t.”

“You were right. It’s not our business anymore. It’s just, ya know, sorta instinct. Like me feeding a stray cat.”

Vinnie flinched. “I just had a dream about that cat…”

“Yeah?”

Vinnie closed his eyes letting the blackness of no sight surround him. The weight of Sonny on the mattress beside him, the gentle hand in his hair, Sonny’s calm, rational voice…

Vinnie whispered, without opening his eyes, “That instinct…it’s who we are.”

Sonny said nothing. Vinnie’s eyelids lifted. That steadfast dark brown gaze connected with his own. “If we don’t try to help Evans, what does that make us?”

Sonny shrugged. “We are helping. By telling Frank.”

“Sonny, this time you’re right and I’m wrong. You shouldn’t just quit.” His heart lurched even as he said the words. He took a deep breath. “I fell asleep this afternoon, and when I woke and you weren’t home yet…” He swallowed hard.

Sonny gave a short laugh. “So you were worried.”

Vinnie felt his eyes warm and he glanced away again.

Sonny leaned down. He pulled Vinnie up by the shoulders and murmured in his ear, “Hey, babe, it’s all good. Whatever you want. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Vinnie wound his arms around Sonny’s waist, felt the warmth from Sonny’s chest, still clad in his white suit shirt, press against his cheek. He smelled good, like fresh spiced rain.

Sonny moved both hands to the sides of Vinnie’s head, leaned his head down and kissed him.

Vinnie allowed the kiss to deepen, felt the slow, heated surge of arousal flush his skin.

Sonny pulled back with Vinnie’s arms still around him. “Whatever you want, babe, any time. You know it.”

Vinnie shut his eyes, pressed his lips tight. He let his eyes open again and the words came a little stuttered, but they were the right ones. “We should help Evans.”

Sonny’s gaze was nothing short of adoring. “That’s my Vinnie,” he whispered, kissing him again.

Slowly, Sonny’s right hand edged the covers down, revealing Vinnie’s nakedness. He said into Vinnie’s lips, “Where’re your clothes? Were you anticipating me or something?”

Vinnie nodded into the kiss, breathing “Hell, yeah” into Sonny’s mouth. He felt Sonny’s lips curve into a wider smile, the roving hand stroking his naked hip, dipping further between his legs to touch, squeeze, massage. The resulting pleasure burned through Vinnie like fire, eating him up, launching him into such an enflamed need for this man.

After awhile, he pulled Sonny down to his side, turned him until he was on his back and straddled him. He began to undo the buttons of the dress white shirt, pressing his hands against the warm flesh he revealed, leaning down to kiss and lick taut nipples. He shifted, helping Sonny lift up to remove his pants. Sonny’s erection bobbed in flushed fullness. Vinnie lowered his head, licked, sucked, and massaged. Sonny groaned loudly, then reached for the lube.

Vinnie grinned up at him.

It was going to be one of those nights. Not that every time with Sonny wasn’t glorious. But he did so love being inside him.

He took Sonny in his arms, kissing, rubbing, mouth on his jaw, neck, lips. He prepared him carefully, lovingly, and when he was inside him the entire room seemed to heat up, the windows to fog.

Sonny pulled his knees back encouragingly, whispering, then gasping Vinnie’s name. Sonny’s face was flushed almost the same color as his cock. Vinnie knew he was hitting that sweetest of spots just right when he saw Sonny’s eyes roll up, his chin come up, his body arch. He wrapped his palm around Sonny’s cock as he thrust, pumping him. It took only seconds before Sonny burst, crying out. He glided with smooth, tight thrusts into his lover’s body and came hard inside him as Sonny clutched fiercely at his hips.

He fell to his side. Sonny turned, still clinging to him. “You are one hell of a stud.”

“Shut up,” Vinnie said, but he kissed him hard.

“Shut up?” Sonny echoed when Vinnie pulled away. “Me? You have the dirtiest mouth I’ve ever heard in bed.”

Frowning, “Did I say anything nasty?”

“Not tonight, but…”

Vinnie shut him up by kissing him again.

Later, they lay in the shadows of their room sated, the sweat slowly drying on their bodies, occasionally talking, laughing softly. And Vinnie realized he had never known such purity of connection, of pleasure than when he was with this man.

*

Waking around dawn, Sonny thought he heard a noise outside. Not really alarmed, he got up slowly leaving Vinnie sleeping, and put on his robe.

Through the thin shadows that were slowly lightening, he made his way to the back door, opened it and looked out. The sky was actually green. Everything in the yard was visible but still dim. Mist rose silkily from the pool. A slender breeze whispered through the trees mixing scents of chlorine, fresh dew and damp grass.

He sat down on the back step and watched as the big black cat, who had been swiftly demolishing the tuna he’d left out, glanced up at him for a moment with gold coin eyes. They looked at each other for several seconds before the cat nonchalantly went back to eating.

Sonny rested his elbows on his knees, and spoke softly. “Attaboy. You know where your home is now, right? You know.”

(the end)

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this work by Natasha Solten, you may also enjoy her m/m romances on Kindle under her non-fanfic name: Wendy Rathbone. Look for "The Foundling," "The Secret Sharer" and the soon to be released "None Can Hold the Dark" (due in fall 2013.) She also has an sf novel out, and a collection of poetry.


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